Harry the werewolf
by imnotjkr
Summary: When Remus bites Harry, during the full moon, it leads him back to the Marauder Era and a certain black haired and very attractive godfather. HPSB SBHP Sirry SiriusHarry HarrySirius
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Harry saw the werewolf coming towards him. Remus. Moony. There was nothing he could do. He was his cub and the wolf wanted to turn its cub. He was only thankful that the wolf would do nothing but bite.

He knew what this meant. This was the last full moon he would spend as a human. This was the last time that he wouldn't be prejudiced against when people found out. How the hell was he supposed to kill Voldemort when he was a Dark Creature? But just because he was a Dark Creature didn't make him dark. He knew that.

He felt the teeth tear into the skin on his right shoulder. He made no noise. Pain was something he had experienced a lot in his life. The wolf then left him, but he felt a burning in his shoulder-blade, that spread to the tips of his fingers. The curse was cemented. He was a werewolf.

This wasn't what Voldemort had planned to happen. He had obviously not done his research properly. All werewolves developed packs (with other werewolves, humans, vampires and veela) and any children born from those in the packs were considered cubs. Voldemort had planned for him to get ripped limb from limb by the werewolf. But no werewolf would do more than turn its cub.

Harry sat down next to Remus – who was falling asleep – and rubbed circles behind his ears with his fingertips. He'd told Remus before he'd transformed that whatever the wolf did was not his fault. Harry had researched werewolves extensively since the beginning of his fourth year. All his 'night-time reading' books were on the subject, and he had picked up more than a fair amount of knowledge through that. He knew that he would be turned. And he had accepted that. It wasn't fair, but then again, life wasn't fair, at least never to him.

He was due to start his sixth year in two weeks. If he could escape from Voldemort's holding camp, that is. Knowing that it would be several hours before Remus would return to human form, Harry settled himself down on the stone floor and leant his head on the stomach of his companion. He may as well sleep; he would need all his energy tomorrow when he had to look after Remus and try to formulate an escape plan. Escaping without Remus had never been an option. And it never would be.

He was rescued two days later, along with Remus, by the Order of the Phoenix. The same Order of the Phoenix that had not managed to stop him from being captured. However, he couldn't blame them, after all, he had gone wondering off. Remus had found him at the same time as the Death Eaters and they had been out-numbered twenty to two. The two had put up a valiant struggle, but it was fruitless. That had been three days before the full-moon that had changed Harry's life.

Madam Pomfrey was still fussing over him, five days after the rescue. "I'm fine Madam Pomfrey, really," he insisted. "It was just one bite."

He knew that she was glaring at him, but she didn't do anything but take his temperature again. He sighed. No one had been able to visit him except her since he'd been rescued. He had been informed, by Poppy's mumbling, that only Dumbledore, Remus and herself knew of his lycanthropy.

Apparently, this was to help him '"adjust to the changes". And it had helped the first couple of days. When he was getting used to how he could see without his glasses and hear things that he really shouldn't have been able to hear. But he was used to that now and felt so lonely. All the books they give him on werewolves he had already read and there are no other books to read.

But, today, Dumbledore came to see him. And Harry was shocked to be able to _smell_ the power rolling off the wizard. He'd always thought of Professor Dumbledore as powerful, but not _this_ powerful.

"Now," Dumbledore started, after the initial pleasantries, sitting in the chair next to his bed. "Your first transformation will be in three weeks and you're due to start school in a week. And we, that is Remus and myself, have worked out a way for you to prepare and become used to being a werewolf, without being in constant danger. An exchange student arrived at Hogwarts at the beginning of your parent's sixth year. All his paper work indicated he was from Beauxbatons, yet none of the teachers there had ever heard of him when we asked after he had left. He was a newly turned werewolf when he arrived. And we believe that he was you. Will you go?"

Harry stared at the wizard. He was going back in time and going to go to school with his parents! And Sirius, who's loss was still fresh in his mind. He'd miss Ron and Hermione, but he had to do this, it was his only opportunity.

"What do I have to do?" Harry asked, subconsciously rubbing his right shoulder, where there his bite scar was still rather painful. No magical healing method worked on werewolf bites. Fortunately, they worked on the scratches (on werewolves, not on humans), or werewolves without wolfsbane would suffer even more than they did.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and explained that it was a spell. Harry's trunk had already been packed, and his false documents had been made up. His new name was Harry Thomas and all that was left to do was to transfigure his face to look like the boy that they recognised.

When it was over, he looked at his face in the mirror and gasped. His pale skin was now as tanned as Charlie's, his hair dirty blond and neater than it had ever been. His eyes were rounder, rather than their original almond shape, and a deep blue. He was also a couple of inches taller, and his lips chapped and thinner. If it wasn't for the fact he knew that he was looking in a mirror, he wouldn't know that this person was him.

"We'll send you back the day before the New Year; you can spend the night in the Leaky Cauldron, before you get on the Hogwarts Express. Here's a letter to send once you get back in time, you can take Hedwig with you." Once Dumbledore had finished his explanation, he smiled at Harry and turned to leave. Once he was almost out the door, he turned back and said to Harry, "Oh, and by the way, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger are here. They do not know what happened, and it is your decision whether you tell them or not. Here they are."

Moments later, Ron and Hermione entered the room at a run. Ron, with his lanky limbs, reached Harry first. Hermione was a close second however, and the moment she reached Harry, she pulled him into a back-breaking hug. And Harry didn't know what to tell them.

* * *

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Von, who encouraged me to write another Sirius/Harry. Hopefully, it won't be too cliché. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not have a brilliant or imaginative enough mind world to think of a whole new world.

**Chapter 2**

Hermione looked so happy to see him; she didn't notice that when she and Ron arrived he had sneezed very violently. Neither, though this was less shocking, had Ron. The smell, that he knew, subconsciously, meant pack, had been so strong from both of them …. But he knew that he'd get used to it.

"Look," he said, after Hermione's rather tearful rant that she was so glad he was OK had finished. "You know that when I was kidnapped, Remus was kidnapped with me."

They both nodded. Hermione looked bewildered, but Ron was obviously not trying to work out what Harry was trying to say and was just waiting for him to say it. Maybe, from experience, he'd learned that it was pretty much impossible to guess what Harry was thinking.

"We … we were stored in the same room and the full moon was two days before we were rescued. I'm … I'm a werewolf too."

Both stared at him. Harry didn't know what to do. He'd had to tell them, he couldn't hide it from them. They were his pack, whether they knew it or not. Whether they would accept him or not. But they'd accepted Remus, hadn't they? And they'd accepted that he was a parseltongue and everything. They had to accept him. Please say they'd accept him.

Hermione was the first to react. Big, fat tears began to drip down her face. "Oh Harry. You poor, poor thing. Oh Harry!" And on that note she flung her arms around him and continued sobbing into his neck. Harry turned to Ron.

"Well, are you leaving or what?"

Ron looked at Harry like he was insane. "Are you crazy? Why, in Merlin's name, would we leave you now? You're still the same person; you're just a bit … hairy once a month. I mean, come on, it's like Remus. He's still a good person, ain't he?"

Harry didn't think he'd ever hugged Ron before. He practically leapt out of bed and grabbed both of his friends into a hug Mrs Weasley would be proud of. When they all broke apart, Ron had gone the famous Weasley red and Harry could feel his own face heating up to match it. Hermione's sniffles had finally ceased and Harry noticed something that he hadn't noticed in the same way before.

He'd known since at least the Yule Ball that his two friends had a thing for one another. How could he not? But now … He remembered reading somewhere about a werewolf who claimed that when two people fancied each other, they released pheromones to try and attract the other and that he could sense them and who they were meant for. And he had a feeling that something similar was happening here.

What looked like very faint red glimmers appeared to be hanging in the air from Ron to Hermione, and similar ones in gold were returned from the Gryffindor bookworm. It was beyond bizarre. However, when he suddenly realised that the colours were in fact the Gryffindor colours, he couldn't help but snort with laughter. It was so typical.

After managing to fend his friends off from the reason for his laughter, he told them that he had something else to tell them.

"Professor Dumbledore and Remus have found a way for me to get used to being a werewolf and all the changes it brings, without being in constant danger from Voldemort. I'm going back in time to my parent's time. Dumbledore has taken off the transfiguration that he did to show me what I will look like. I'll be in their year at school and I'll get to see Sirius again. I'll miss you."

Both of his friends stared at him in amazement. He supposed that it was a lot to take in. A second later, they were all hugging again. He didn't know who'd instated the hug and he didn't care.

"I'll ask Dumbledore if he has a way for us to communicate while I'm there. I hope there is. I don't know what I'd do without you."

After a couple more hours of conversation on anything and everything, the pair were forced to leave and Harry was left alone again.

They visited a few times, and Harry was very grateful for their company. However, on the day that Harry was due to leave, someone else came to visit him.

Remus wasn't looking directly at Harry, and Harry could feel the waves of nerves and guilt that the last true Marauder was emitting. He could smell the pack smell again and also feel that this man was a fellow werewolf. Not that he didn't know that before.

He knew that Remus felt guilty for turning him into a werewolf. He knew that had always been Remus' greatest fear, apart from killing anyone during the full moon. But he'd told Remus again and again that he still trusted him and loved him like a father when they were kidnapped. He'd never told Sirius he loved him and Sirius was dead and damn it Harry was not going to spend more time regretting that he'd never told someone that he loved them.

Standing up, he pulled Remus into a hug, to prove that he still cared about him, loved him and forgave him, though he didn't really feel that there was anything to forgive. Remus looked up and smiled, before taking a seat next to him on the hospital bed.

"So…we're going back in time, huh."

"What?" Harry asked, bewildered. "What do you mean 'we'?"

Remus looked just as bewildered. "Didn't Albus tell you that I'll be going as your father and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"No," Harry replied, curious as to why he had not been informed.

"Well, I will be," Remus replied, obviously unsure as to what was going on. "We'll be leaving at midnight tonight. Severus is going to send us Wolfsbane in a magical box that will transfer it through time."

Harry had an idea. "Hey, Remus. Could I use something like that to send letters to Ron and Hermione?"

Remus looked unsure, but agreed, saying he would talk it over with Albus at the earliest opportunity. After that, their conversation turned to more mundane topics, such as the weather and Harry's well-being. By the time he left, it was eleven in the evening and Remus needed to pack.

Before Harry knew it, it was time for the spell. Gripping onto the box that he could use for sending letters to his friends and his trunk, Hedwig's cage, with the owl in it, balanced on top, and Remus next to him, looking so similar to the transfigured appearance he had been given. He hoped that he would get used to it soon, and stop jumping out of his skin every time he saw his reflection.

He saw Dumbledore in front of him raise his wand and yell something that he could not make out as the air rushed around him and the world became a massive blur and he … just … couldn't … move. And then, suddenly, he was standing outside Diagon Alley.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I took so long to update, I was trying to post this story on Mugglenet as well, but they wouldn't accept it because, and I quote, "This story seems to have canon issues. Since when is Harry Remus_(forward slash)_'s son? Since when does becoming a werewolf change your appearance and make you tan? Remus has always been discribed as sickly and pale from his condition." God, they won't accept it because they misunderstood a couple of point. The other story I tried to upload was also not accepted because of a couple of grammar mistakes (Look at the email fragment. I mean, come on) and the fact that one of my characters came across as a bit of a Mary-Sue. They took forever to get it looked at, and I didn't want to update one before the other, or something of the kind. Whatever. Please review. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Harry stared around himself as his vision cleared. His glasses were gone, as his eye-sight had been fixed with his transformation. The first thing he could make out was Remus, in his transfigured state, looking around the alley to make sure that their arrival had not been noticed. They were lucky.

Picking up his belongings and Hedwig from the floor, he looked at the man who was pretending to be his father. In return, Jack, as he was now, smiled at him and told him, "We should be getting to the Leaky Cauldron now, so we can book the rooms. After that we'll send Dumbledore the letter and get some sleep." He looked at the watch that Harry knew had been charmed to adjust to any time-zone. "It's ten o'clock here, and I'm shattered."

With a small smile, Harry followed his guardian, it had been organised due to the lack of safety during the full moon for him at Privet Drive. They did as he had suggested and were glad to have managed to receive a twin bedded room at this time of year, when the majority of rooms were normally booked up. After all, Hogwarts would open very soon, and lots of people wanted to stay in London.

Moments after the letter was sent, Harry collapsed on his bed and fell asleep without even bothering to change.

The next morning, a letter was waiting for each of them, as Harry discovered after a shower to wash away the cobwebs. One was written to Jack, but Harry read it over the man's shoulder anyway.

It read

_Dear Jack Thomas,_

_I am most grateful for you offering to take the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. It has been most difficult to try and find a teacher and with only a few weeks left till school is to begin again, I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't find a teacher at all. Thankfully, I received your letter. It has been especially difficult to procure a candidate for the position after the death of our last teacher, though he should have been a bit more careful. What was he thinking, transfiguring a plant pot in his office to Devil's Snare, and then to give it spikes …? I suppose we'll never know._

_You're CV was most impressive and I am very proud to offer you the job. Your condition, and that of your son, is very unfortunate, but there are ways for us to keep everyone safe, including you. If you could come to my office at some time today, it would be much appreciated and I could fully explain the way everything will work._

_I will leave it here and fill you in on everything at the meeting. I hope you and your son have fun at Hogwarts this year._

_Albus Dumbledore._

Harry then went over to the owl and removed the remaining letter while Jack took his turn in the shower. It read:

_Dear Harry Thomas,_

_I look forward to you beginning your year of education at Hogwarts. I am sorry to hear that your previous school could not keep you as a pupil on account of your newly developed condition. I will fully explain how you and the other students may be kept safe at the meeting with your father later in the day._

_Also, you're OWL results were more than satisfactory to attend the classes you asked. However, we normally ask our students to take a minimum of six subjects and you only specified five. The maximum of subjects a student can fit into their time-table is eight. Below is the list of all the subjects possible to take with you results and I hope to receive your answer at the meeting with your father._

_All the best, and I will see you on the 30th of August,_

_Albus Dumbledore._

Harry had received his OWL results in the post the day before he had left and the Dumbledore from his time had transferred them to a letter from a made up school in Southern Wales, where he was pretending to have received his education. He had passed nearly all his subjects (History of Magic and Divination being the only exceptions). However, he had only received an Exceeds Expectations on his Potions exam, which meant that if he had not been going back in time, he would never have been able to take the subject.

He pulled the second sheet of parchment out of the envelope and looked at his choices:

_- Defence Against the Dark Arts_

_- Potions_

_- Transfiguration (with the option of doing extra-curricular classes on the Animagus transformation)_

_- Herbology_

_- Care of Magical Creatures_

_- Charms_

_- Duelling_

_- Healing_

_Please choose between six and eight of these subjects and get them back to me as soon as possible. I will give your father the book list when I see him,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

After looking at the explanations of the subjects with Jack, who also told him about what subjects the Marauders and his mother would be taking, he made his final decisions. Finally he circled Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, Duelling and Healing. It turned out he would have all those subjects with both of his parents, and Sirius. Lily would also be taking Arithmancy, Remus wouldn't be taking Potions or Healing, but would be taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, and peter was only taking Charms, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration and Divination, though he was only in the same Transfiguration class as Harry, and not his Charms.

After that, Jack and Harry went downstairs for breakfast, just as Harry remembered doing when he had stayed there, back in third year. They sat at a table towards the back and Harry took advantage of his new skills to 'people-watch', an activity he had always enjoyed, but it now had a new level, with said skills.

"Ahh," Jack said as his eyes fixed on a person over Harry's head. "I think we've worked out what you're going to be doing today."

Harry turned round and followed the direction of his guardian's gaze. There, unmistakeably there, was his mother, Lily Evans.

A/N: I am beyond sorry for taking so long to update, I just haven't had the energy to write after getting back into the swing of things after my holiday. So sorry. The next chapter should be up by the end of next week at the latest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

This woman may have been his mother, but she looked nothing like the girl he had seen in the pensieve, or in the few photos he had. Harry found himself following Jack in a trance. Her hair, that he was sure had been wavy, was now extremely straight and streaked with thick chunks of black. She had swept it behind her ears, which revealed several piercing up the shell as well as in the lobe, and stopped it from getting in her way as she worked on what appeared to be homework. Her eyes were outlined thickly in kohl and her lips painted a bright red that wouldn't have looked out of place on a London Bus. Her skin was tanned, much darker than Harry remembered, and then there were her clothes.

Her legs were mostly on show as the skirt she was wearing barely made it half-way down her thigh, though the rest were partly concealed in fishnet stockings. Finally, she wore a tight black t-shirt with a polo neck. Harry couldn't help feeling that if she had worn a deeper neck-line then at least it wouldn't have shown too much as she was rather flat-chested. Then he felt rather sick. Jesus Christ, this was his mother, for crying out loud! It wasn't fair. Why couldn't his mother have had a very conservative dress sense?

It was at that moment, when they reached her table and Jack said "Hello", that Harry realised that she had her nose and eyebrow pierced. She also had her tongue pierced, as became obvious when she smiled and responded to his greeting. "Hello. What do you want?"

Jack smiled. "I'm Jack Thomas. I'm applying to be Defence teacher at Hogwarts and have a meeting with him today. I was wondering if you could keep an eye on my son. He's never been to Diagon Alley before and I just don't want him to get lost. Besides, the headmaster said that you were one of the prefects and very responsible."

Harry couldn't help but feel that Jack's training as a marauder had left him with a pretty damn good ability to lie. "I'm Harry."

"This isn't some stupid excuse because your son doesn't have the balls to ask me out himself, is it?"

Harry choked on his own spit. "What!? NO!" His face was flaming.

"God, no need to look so horrified. Don't you know how to make a girl to feel special." Lily didn't look particularly offended, though Jack was in hysterics.

"I didn't mean it like that, you're just ... not my type." Harry could feel his blush getting worse.

Lily smiled at him. "I just wanted to make sure. It has happened." She shrugged, a wicked grin stretching from powdered cheek to powdered cheek. "It's better to be safe than sorry. Have you got a letter from the Headmaster?"

Jack nodded and passed her the letter Dumbledore had sent him that morning. She nodded at him and passed the letter back.

"I'll baby-sit your son then. When do you want him back?"

Harry didn't even attempt to protest. He'd embarrassed himself too much already. After his two companions had worked out the details, Jack excused himself and Lily turned to him. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Whatever you want," Harry answered, feeling his cheeks beginning to pale. He hated that he embarrassed so easily, though he wondered who he inherited that from. He assumed it was him mum because his experiences with red-heads had left him with the impression that they blushed. However, this did not appear to describe his mother. "I've not got my booklist yet, so I've not got anything I need to get."

She grinned. "That's what I hoped you'd say." She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the pub before he knew what was happening. "Now, would you like to join me in a little torture of James Potter."

Harry blinked. "What?"

"Well, he's never seen me in this kind of outfit before and he has a teensy weensy bit of a crush on me. He tends to wolf-whistle when I take off a jumper ." She shook her head. "I mean, he's been like this for two years, ever since he caught me kissing Severus that one time."

Harry started to yelp "You call Snape by his first name!" before he finally grasped what she meant. "You kissed Snape !"

She looked at him oddly. "How do you know Severus, you've never even been to Diagon Alley?"

"Lets just say his reputation precedes him," was Harry's response. "Look, how do you even know James is going to be here?"

"Because I'm friends with Remus Lupin, who told me that he was going to be here today, and he only ever comes with the rest of his group of friends, or the Marauders as they call themselves." She rolled her eyes. "Who do they think they're kidding?"

Harry sighed. "Sure, I'll come."

She grinned back at him. "Brilliant."

They tapped the wall, and waited for it to become the entrance to the magical alley. The moment they entered, Harry saw one person he'd never remembered, one who he thought he'd never see again and one who he had hoped he wouldn't. James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. They didn't notice them, but Harry knew that Lily had seen them too. That was mainly from the way she sauntered towards them, eyes fixed on the back of James' head. Harry followed quickly.

She walked right up to them and grinned. "Hiya boys."

They turned round immediately and the effect was obvious. All three mouths fell open. "Evans?" James managed to rasp, after staring for what had to have been minutes.

"What the hell happened to you ?" Sirius asked, his tone so laced in innuendo Harry could feel his face heating up once more.

Lily raised an eyebrow and Peter, the only one left with his mouth open, blushed and closed it. "None of your business. Do you know where Remus is? I promised I'd meet him."

"He's in Florish and Blotts, we were going to meet him at Zonkos," Sirius answered, before he too raised an eye-brow, looking so much like Draco Malfoy Harry did a double-take. "If you want to get busy , we don't want to interrupt."

Lily didn't even blush, but Harry knew he was doing enough for both of them. "Look, I've told you so many times , me and Remus are not a couple. I just want to talk about prefect duties and introduce him to a new student. This is Harry." She dragged him forward and into the view of the Marauders.

"Hi."

The three boys looked at him appraisingly, though James was still red and appeared to be fixated with Lily's legs, to Harry's increased embarrassment. However, he appeared to have unearthed the answer to the mystery of where he'd got his blush from. Lily grinned at them then grabbed the front of Harry's t-shirt and dragged him to Florish and Blotts.

The moment they entered, Harry could smell the other werewolf, and he knew instinctively it was an alpha. Remus came up to him instantly, eyes staring Harry down. He bared his teeth and looked ready to growl. Harry ducked his head. He was not in charge here and it would be stupid to even attempt to try and take control.

Lily obviously didn't know what she had just witnessed, for she simply shook her head and introduced the two boys to each other. Werewolf power struggles were not featured in many books as the only people who really understood them were werewolves themselves and people rarely employ werewolves, to write or do much else. It wasn't a wonder that Lily hadn't understood. And that was if she'd even known they were werewolves, which was highly unlikely.

Remus' cheeks coloured when he smiled in greeting. Harry knew that he was embarrassed for letting the wolf show through, even though he met Harry's eyes with question. When Lily asked about what Remus was looking for, he managed to convince her to go and look separately while he was with Harry. Harry barely heard what was said past that as he was worried about what he was going to say when he was alone with Remus. He had not thought this through. What the hell are you supposed to say? What if he knew that they'd time-traveled? What if he knew who Harry was? Oh God, he needed to stop thinking like this, it wasn't possible. Was it?

Before he knew what had happened, Lily had left and it was just him and Remus. "So ... when were you bitten?"

Harry smiled gently. "Last full moon." He'd recognized the whispered spell Remus had thrown behind him, the moment Lily had left, and knew that no one would be able to overhear the conversation. "Someone locked me in a room with my dad. He should be teaching Defense this year. My old school weren't so keen on my dad being a werewolf, so I didn't even bother trying to go back after I got the bite. Dad knew Dumbledore was more... liberal. So, here I am. You?"

"I was six. My dad was a big advocator of muggle rights. Well he would be, he married one. He made lots of enemies, one of them hired a feral werewolf to kill me and the aurors only got there in time to save my life. Thank goodness Dumbledore said I could come to Hogwarts, or I don't know what I would have done." Remus appeared to be unused to this kind of conversation. So was Harry come to that. "It's nice to meet you."

Now they'd swapped bite stories, they couldn't think about what on Earth to say. Harry had no idea what to say. He had never been in this kind of situation before.

"So ... you're friends with James Potter, and the rest of the Marauders, right."

"Friends with them," Remus finally had the kind of grin that Harry recognized from his future self. "I am a Marauder."

"Really?" Harry hoped that his acting ability had improved recently. "And what does that mean exactly?"

Remus looked truly mischievous. "We are the school's main pranksters. Trouble makers, if you will. Just ask Lily if you don't believe me."

He quickly cast the counter to the charm he had used to hide them as Lily approached; obviously having found whatever she was looking for. Harry hadn't been listening.

A/N: That's actually the longest chapter I've ever written. And it's really not that long. I'm so lazy!! Sorry this took so long, it was the holidays and before I knew it, it was Christmas. Happy New Year!


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Sooooooo sorry I took so long to update ... again. I know, I'm lazy, a procrastinator and easily distracted. It's not a good combination. Anywho, this is FINALLY up and I've started the next one, but I've got to finish the next chapter of Catherine Smith. IT could take a while, and for that I deeply apologize. And I've just rambled for ages and your probably not even reading this and have just skipped on to the chapter, but if you are reading this authors note (that is very similar to pretty much all my authors notes) I would just like to say "Surely you have better things to do!" Now I have that out of my system, enjoy (I hope gulp):

**Chapter Five**

Lily didn't know why Harry and Remus were getting along so well, though Harry knew it bothered her from the curious looks she was giving the two. She was about as subtle as Hermione, though not quite as high-and-mighty. And rather more …… extroverted. Actually, it wasn't a good idea to compare the two as they were actually very different. In fact, Harry hadn't realised he'd put them in the same part of his mind, until he thought about it like that. It was like the way his mind had automatically associated Neville and Pettigrew. Hopefully, he'd been wrong about that connection, as well.

Once again, he was pulled out of his thoughts, this time by Lily saying, "Oh shit, that's Bertha. I've got to go say 'Hi', meet you at the Cauldron in a couple of hours." And then she was gone in a whirl of black-streaked red hair.

Remus nodded his assent amusedly, watching as she headed off with a woman Harry was sure he remembered from somewhere. It surprised Harry how quickly they had made friends, despite the fact that they had only met that morning.

Remus asked "Are you hungry? Only it's twelve o' clock and I missed breakfast."

"Starved," Harry admitted, who, despite Madame Pomfrey's desperate mothering, still hadn't fully recovered from being in that cell with barely enough food to feed a frog, let alone two humans. "Where do you want to go?"

"What if we go to the Quidditch shop, I promised the guys I'd meet them there, and they're always hungry, so they'll probably come. And you'll get to meet them properly, as I hardly believe you got a word in edgeways with Lily there. She likes to be the centre of attention, as do most of the Marauders, but you don't strike me as that type." He appeared to be searching Harry's eyes for agreement, but it was unnecessary as Harry had already found himself nodding.

His shyness was obviously a product of too much time with the Dursleys, as it certainly wasn't inherited. From what he'd heard of his father, he relished any attention he got, and his mother, as he'd gathered from their rather anti-climactic meeting, certainly wouldn't turn down a go in the spotlight.

He didn't realise they were heading towards Quality Quidditch Supplies, so lost was he in the crazy mixed-up world that was his mind. He had no idea what Remus was saying, but he hoped he was nodding his head at _appropriate_ intervals, rather than just randomly, making it clear he wasn't listening. He should probably start listening, just in case. It would be terribly embarrassing if Remus said something dreadfully important and he missed it because he was wondering who he'd inherited his shyness from.

By the time he had thought this through, they were already at the Quidditch shop. Remus had stopped talking, and was looking at him in a way that suggested he was seconds away from laughing. So he'd probably just been randomly nodding his head. He felt another blush colour his cheeks.

"Well, we're here. Ummmm …. I'll probably need your help actually getting them to leave. Peter will leave as soon as the others do and Sirius will leave when I mention food, but James… Do you mind waiting here, because then I can tell him Lily's with you? That will get him out quicker than anything." He smirked slightly at his friends' obvious weaknesses.

Harry nodded, though he found his father's slight … obsession, rather embarrassing. Though it would have been much more embarrassing if she _hadn't_ been his mother, that was for sure.

Just as Remus predicted, James was out of the shop like a cannonball, closely followed by Sirius, and then Remus and Peter. Sirius managed to laugh as James looked from side to side wildly, as though to find Lily.

"Evil, Remus," Sirius choked through his laughter.

They appeared to have forgotten about Harry. James had finally realised Lily wasn't there so was blushing madly and attempting to whack Sirius, who was now rolling on the floor. Remus was leaning against the wall watching with feigned disinterest, betrayed by the small smirk playing about his lips. Peter was watching Sirius and James, who were now both rolling around on the floor, as though not quite sure if he could join in, but desperate to be involved.

Harry almost found himself feeling sorry for him, before he remembered what the stupid little rat had done. Speaking of rats, he was sure he could, well, _sense _that there was one near by. And a dog. And maybe a sta…… ohhhh. So that explains it.

Unable to stop himself, he found himself saying, "So when did you become animagi?"

That stopped all action unbelievably quickly. All the boys were staring at him as though he had three heads.

Peter gasped, "How did you know?"

Harry knew he was blushing. "Ummm … Remus?"

"What!? You can sense that?" Remus looked at him in shock. "I've never been able to do that!"

"Ummm, yeah." Harry's face was still heating. He looked round at the rest of the marauders who were still completely confused. "I'm a werewolf too."

Sirius stood up immediately, knocking James to the floor. Peter's mouth fell open.

Harry knew it was a big shock for them, but he had to finish explaining before they interrupted. "My dad bit me. He's going to be teaching Defence this year."

Sirius jerked suddenly, before looking around in case someone had been listening. James' eyes immediately flickered to Remus, who nodded. Peter's eyes widened even further and he let out a muffled squeak. He was a lot less rat-like than Harry remembered. His eyes didn't have the tendency to flicker around and were much less watery.

"Let's go to eat," Sirius asked, his face staid and older. He turned and they all followed, Harry last of all. He led them out of the magical alleyway and into Muggle London. A small café nearby received their patronage and no one said anything but their order until the bored waitress left to give it in. She said nothing about their serious expressions, and Harry highly doubted they would get what they'd ordered, but she didn't try and interrupt and she left as soon as possible.

"So…" James said, his eyes on Harry. "You have 'Moony senses'."

Harry blinked. "What?"

"It's what we call Remus," Sirius explained. "Moony, that is. So, the senses that come with his, time of the month, were named accordingly."

Remus blushed in such a way that it put Ginny Weasley to shame. "I thought we agreed." His voice was low and deadly. "That my," he glanced around, "furry little problem, would never be referred to under that name again. Especially after that rumour I was undergoing a sex-change operation, which was the reason for my regular absences. Even McGonagall called me into her office and started a round-a-bout conversation, which basically meant that if anyone treated me wrongly because of the treatment I was having, I could go to her. And then I had to tell her that someone had misheard my friends talking. I have never been so embarrassed in my whole life."

The other Marauders snickered in memory of the occasion. Harry took the moment he was given to observe his four companions. Remus, despite his best efforts and hunched shoulders, was clearly the tallest, with short brown hair and a pasty, pale complexion that made him look ill, though it was still some time before the next full moon. His worn clothes, bony face, pale eyes and plain features made him blend in and gave his an air of fragility. However, the steely glint in water-coloured amber eyes, and stubborn set of his chin, said quite clearly that there was more to him than met the eye.

Peter was, like Remus, very skinny, and easily the shortest of the group, even shorter than Harry. His straw blond hair was a tad on the long side, almost in an imitation of Sirius, though Peter's looked more accidental than properly styled. His cheeks were childish, chubby and rosy, and his blue eyes were small, and peaked out on either side of his pointed nose. His round face was nodding desperately up and down, agreeing with everything.

James, like Harry expected, looked practically identical to how he normally looked. They were almost the same, down to that one piece of particularly messy hair that fell across his cheek. His glasses slipped down his long nose when he made a very excited point, so he pushed them back up with the second finger of his right hand, just like Harry did. However, when the argument, over whether they had agreed to never call Remus' problem his 'Time of the Month' or not, didn't appear to be going his way, his hand travelled to his hair and ruffled it, apparently without his notice. Harry had never done that.

Sirius, however, seemed not to be involved in the argument, looking to all concerned every inch the haughty, bored, rich kid, though it was betrayed by the large grin that kept escaping, lighting up his face. His grey eyes were anything but pale, them glint in the alive. Harry couldn't help but see fathomless black holes, in place of his eyes, suddenly. The eyes he would have in sixteen years. He shuddered, and the image of skeletal skin and years of mistreatment of a person he truly cared about faded to reveal the young handsome man in question, looking at his with curious eyes, and Harry suddenly realised how long he must have been staring and felt a blush rise once more. God, how many times had he blushed today alone! It didn't helped that the moment he realised he'd been staring, Sirius grinned at him and winked.

His face was definitely on fire.

They were so much more relaxed with him, now that they knew he was a werewolf. He guessed it meant that they now trusted him a bit more, but it was rather odd that that was the opposite he would have to expect from everyone else.

Harry was dragged from store to store by the grinning group, and was surprised to find out how much fun shopping could be. He generally avoided it, because he was used to not having money to spend. Add to that the fact he didn't have much time to go anywhere, he'd never really gone shopping. The Dursleys had never trusted him with money.

None of them actually bought anything, but they got thrown out of at least four shops. Harry hadn't started counting till he realised they'd been thrown out of every shop they'd gone into so far. He'd managed to separate these boys from what he knew they would become, despite the fact it would suddenly hit him, just for a moment. When they'd just left (a.k.a. been kicked out of) the small shop that specialised in kneazles (that Harry knew would later become Weasley's Wizard Wheezes), Harry had choked when he saw the glassy hazel eyes and pale, grey figure of a dead person, standing up. He'd blinked, and it had become his father. Or James. He'd looked so petrified that the others had made him sit down on a bench until 'he stopped looking like a bloody zombie', according to James. That hadn't really helped him get over it.

Getting to know the Marauders, however, had also helped him understand them as adults (apart from James, as Harry didn't know him at all as an adult). Peter's desperation to fit in and inability to be alone fitted so well with what Sirius had said about him always needing 'big friends'. Remus needed their friendship quite desperately for fear he would be alone without it, just like he had not told Dumbledore about the Marauders being animagi. He didn't want to seem too much. And Sirius…

Sirius here was the centre of everyone's attention. He was free to go anywhere he wanted, free to engage any of his whims. The kind of boy who could get anyone or anything. No wonder he had felt so enclosed when he had been at Grimmauld Place. From what he had heard, Sirius had never been confined, even when his parents had locked him up, he had always escaped. And he was always sneaking out to Hogsmeade when he was at Hogwarts.

They eventually bumped into Lily and Bertha (Bertha Jorkins as it turned out, much to Harry's horror). The difference in James was unbelievable, had Harry not seen it with his own eyes. He went from one of the chattiest of the group (only slightly behind Sirius in his overactive chatter), to quieter and redder than Harry. They were standing outside the Leaky Cauldron when a woman burst out yelling "Wotcher Harry!"

Harry's exclamation of "Tonks?" was hidden by her loud, bustling questions to the rest of the group.

"Oh, who are you? I told Jack that he wasn't supposed to leave Harry by himself, but I didn't expect him to leave him with a load of random strangers."

Lily introduced everyone, before asking, "And who are you?"

She smiled warmly, but in such a way that Harry was sure it was Tonks, however she had chosen to appear that day. "I'm Harry's … well … nearly step-mother." Her smile became a grin at the looks on the faces of everyone (who were thankfully staring at her and missed Harry's raised eyebrows). "As I'm a bit too young to be Harry's actual mum and I'm not actually married to Jack, we're just together."

This was news to him and Harry was thankful he managed not to look too surprised when Bertha turned round to see his reaction. "Ummm, I thought you weren't coming," was his final response.

"Oh Harry, you didn't think I'd let you and Re-Jack get away from me, did you?"

"Will you be coming to Hogwarts too?" It was the first time James had actually spoken since Lily had appeared (apart from the rather surprised squeak when he'd walked right in to her).

Tonks nodded. "I'm hardly gonna let these two alone, who knows what they'd do. I'm Marie, by the way."

Now Harry thought about her … scent (God, he felt more like an animal than a human now), he thought he'd probably be able to recognise it anywhere. There was something about her that was unusual, but what he knew of her told him that it was part of her metamorphagus…ness. He had been reminded of it by her wrinkling her nose and changing her blond ringlets into soft, brown waves.

"I'm a metamorphagus," she added, unnecessarily. The rest of the group, other than Harry, had their mouths open in shock (though James' eyes were focused on the back of Lily's vibrant head, despite Harry's attempts to avoid noticing as it made him feel rather uncomfortable).

Before he knew what was happening, he was following everyone (including Bertha Jorkins) into the Leaky Cauldron.


End file.
